Sacred Concord

AV 4.10

Atharva Veda · translated by Maurice Bloomfield

1. Come hither! Thou art the living, protecting eye-ointment of the mountain, given by all the gods as a safeguard, unto life. 2. Thou art a protection for men, a protection for cattle, thou didst stand for the protection of horses and steeds. 3. Thou art, O salve, both a protection that crushes the sorcerers, and thou hast knowledge of immortality (amrita). Moreover, thou art food for the living, and thou art, too, a remedy aorainst jaundice. 4. From him over whose every limb and every joint thou passest, O salve, thou dost, as a mighty intercepter, drive away disease. 5. Him that bears thee, O salve, neither curse, nor sorcery, nor burning pain does reach; nor does the,vishkandha come upon him. 6. From evil scheme, from troubled dream, from evil deed, and also from foulness.; from the evil eye of the enemy, from this protect us, O salve! 7. Knowing this, O salve, I shall speak the truth, avoid falsehood. May I obtain horses and cattle, and thy person, O serving-man! 8. Three are servants of the salve: the takman (fever), the balâsa, and the serpent. The highest of the mountains, Trikakud ('Three-peaks') by name, is thy father. 9. Since the salve of Trikakud is born upon the Himavant, it shall demolish all the wizards and all the witches. 10. Whether thou art derived from the (mountain) Trikakud, or art said to come from the (river) Yamunâ, both these names of thine are auspicious: with these, O salve, protect us!
AV 4.10 · Atharva Veda · 4

Themes in this passage

ProtectionTruthFamilyHealingKarmaNatureSpeechStrength

Protection in other traditions

The same theme, as Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Hellenism address it.

That is the safe refuge, that is the best refuge; having gone to that refuge, a man is delivered from all pain.
Dhp 14.192 · Dhammapada · The Buddha (The Awakened)
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
Psalms 121:7 · Bible · Psalms
Say: Lo! none can protect me from Allah, nor can I find any refuge beside Him
Quran 72:22 · Quran · The Jinn
Now shield with shield, with helmet helmet closed, To armour armour, lance to lance opposed, Host against host with shadowy squadrons drew, The sounding darts in iron tempests flew, Victors and vanquish’d join’d promiscuous cries, And shrilling shouts and dying groans arise; With streaming blood the slippery fields are dyed, And slaughter’d heroes swell the dreadful tide.
Iliad 4.38 · Iliad · 4

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